Can You Stabilize the Debt?

Via @MediaLizzy I came across this timesuck in which one can try to reduce the federal debt to 60% of GDP by 2018. It is an interesting exercise, although I do reject some of the premises that the site makes. First, it takes a static analysis on tax cuts, assuming that extending the Bush tax cuts indefinitely will carry a cost but not provide a revenue boost in the long run. Also, they assume that the repeal of the Health Care plan will actually increase the deficit, because they are using the congressional fuzzy math that was provided by the CBO. Finally, they only allowed me to do certain things like “cut 50% of all earmarks” where, in my world where I could wave a magic wand, I’d eliminate all of them. Still, a worthwhile exercise to see just how challenging the prospect is of just getting our debt down to 60% of GDP after the spending spree the Federal Government has been on since the 1930s and especially in the last few years.

You’re right, their premises are a little tilted. There is nearly no way to get the debt down realistically using their calculations. Perhaps this is a subtle way to trivialize conservative approaches to the budget by making it seem that such an approach would make no difference.